Inappropriate Racist behaviour
When I first went to university I was completely alone like most people are when they first go to university. The first people I summoned up the courage to hang out with were the people on my corridor in my halls of residence. They actually knew each other from school before and had requested that they be allowed to live near each other and the university had obviously granted that request.

They were all from inner London and I was a country boy from the valleys in Wales. They all played football every day in the evenings on the big garden in front of the halls. As they were going out from the corridor on the second day, I asked if I could join them and they said I could.

I was so grateful and I was literally fizzing inside with happiness because I had made some friends. Because I felt so energetic and happy, I played very well and scored quite a few goals and consequently felt even better when they asked me to join them for a drink in the hall’s pub. I was ecstatic to be there. I had arrived at the university social scene. Even better, girls knew them and sat with us and I felt awesome.

They were all doing business and economic degrees and as I was studying law I had to go on my own even though we all walked from where we lived to campus together in the morning. I suppose in my heart of hearts at the time I knew that we were mismatched because I was rather introverted and liked books and computers and they all liked football and clubbing. However having friends in university was great and even though I was making tentative acquaintances in the law department, going out and socialising was primarily with these guys.

I didn’t really understand they were racist until we were watching football in the common room one evening and one of them goes off on an angry tangent about black footballers not being as good as white footballers and that many of them came over as illegal immigrants. I didn’t say anything because I knew that as it was such a preposterous viewpoint that it had to be some sort of joke. When the others concurred with the original rant, I found myself outwardly agreeing so as not to be an outsider but inwardly being horrified and feeling extremely grubby.

It was only after this that I realised that there were various cues and hints that I had overlooked in my appalling naivety. The ‘joke’ shouting of abuse (‘wog!’ - I didn’t even know that that was racist such was my innocence) at various people of colour on campus, the constant comments and digs at people made within the group, and the name of our five-a-side football team, ‘White Stallions’ (I cringe at the thought that I had overlooked the significance of that).

I found myself detesting the overbearing and overt nature of the behaviour but I was unwilling to detach myself from the feeling of belonging to a group of people because of the alternative of being some sort of loner. I even considered going home because I couldn’t stand it but thought that that would be even worse to have to live at home again ( I don’t get on with my parents).

Things came to a head when we all went out to a nightclub and a group of Indian engineers who were at the club came to the attention of some of the people within our group. We were all pretty drunk and there was a lot of shouting and scuffling before we were all chucked outside by the bouncers. There was still a lot of posturing outside but things seemed to be calming down with me trying to get everyone to go to another club down the road, but then as one of our group uttered a final disgusting racial epithet under his breath about the Indians, things just erupted and there was a massive fight. These football hooligans obviously knew a lot more about street fighting than the poor Indian guys and there was kicking and blood everywhere.

These events seemed to freeze my brain and bone marrow. I tried to stop one of ‘my friends’ and I got a fist from one of them straight into my nose, breaking it, and knocking me onto the floor. I cradled my arms around my head and I was being savagely kicked by my friends and the Indian guys. I heard the sirens and the kicking stopped as people legged it. There was me and about 5 Indian guys on the floor moaning and covered in blood. Luckily, the sirens were for an ambulance and I got taken to A&E but after the treatment I was questioned under caution by the Police. Luckily, two of the Indian guys remembered that I had tried to stop everything and so they didn’t press any charges against me. This would have destroyed my potential legal career as law firms obviously don’t employ too many racist felons convicted of affray.

I named all of the people in my group and told them everything that had happened that night and past behaviour. With the Indian guys and the bouncer’s testimonies they were arrested and charged with affray and ABH. These convictions were upheld and they were booted out of university. It turned out that all but one of them had been charged with violence before.

I think they might have come looking for me once or twice but I requested that I move halls of residence and I didn’t stay after dark in the law library when I was studying so I didn’t really see anything.

I made more decent friends eventually and had a great time at university but sometimes I think of those first few weeks still and wonder how it could have turned out differently.
(powervator and NONE SHALL PASS, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 14:56, 11 replies)

Things we do to fit in
Anyway, the thing I do to fit in is to make up a story like this on b3ta or everyone will laugh at me for not having a tale to tell.
(powervator and NONE SHALL PASS, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 14:56, closed)

Whether you made it up or not
it's a good story.

*click*
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 15:04, closed)

*Click*
This I like. Kinda hope it is true, though its a good tale if it aint.
(Fredz A graveyard of hopes, a dump of ambition, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 15:22, closed)

CLICK
Sounds like a film. I can see Edward Norton as you and Brad Pitt as the hooligan leader now.. Although that is rather similar to Fight Club...
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 15:48, closed)

Edward Norton?
surely it should be American History X instead...
(Fuckarma was masturbating into your handbag, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 15:50, closed)

^
Did I mention that my elder brother was a neo-nazi and I idolised him?
(powervator and NONE SHALL PASS, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 15:56, closed)

How are tricks with you now?
After that weird police/paedo type case?

*Edit - with the Austrian body builder*
(Fuckarma was masturbating into your handbag, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 15:58, closed)

Eh?
What weird police thing?
(powervator and NONE SHALL PASS, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 16:09, closed)

Terminator 2!
Dammit, too obtuse!
(Fuckarma was masturbating into your handbag, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 16:09, closed)

Ah right
Well that was ok but then I went a bit off the rails. I don't know what I have been in recently either :-)
(powervator and NONE SHALL PASS, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 16:19, closed)

Err indeed
Bit of both really..
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Thu 15 Jan 2009, 15:59, closed)